For many services that deliver information to viewers, such as newspapers, magazines and broadcast television, advertising is an integral component of the business model that supports the cost of delivering the information. The same holds true for information services that are provided via the Internet. Some of the mechanisms that are employed to present advertising via the Internet include banners and pop-up windows that appear within a user's browser. One of the limitations associated with these mechanisms, however, is the fact that they can be readily blocked by various software tools, as a result of which the user never sees the advertising. Consequently, Internet advertising which employs these heretofore known techniques is not as effective as more persistent advertising that appears in print media or the like.
The present invention provides an alternative mechanism for the presentation of advertising via electronic media, that thwarts efforts to block the advertising.